This device relates to a new and improved bronchial tube with a built-in stylet and Y-guide which leads the endobronchial portion into the left bronchus and prevents slippage from the left bronchus.
In order to perform endoscopic surgery inside the chest cavity, the lung of the operative side must be collapsed, while the other side of the lung is ventilated with oxygen and anesthetic gas, and this technique is referred to as one-lung ventilation. Other types of thoracic surgery such as a lobectomy for lung cancer through a standard open incision (thoracotomy) are also greatly facilitated by one-lung ventilation, i.e., separating the air flow from the trachea into the right and left bronchi, followed by collapse of the appropriate lung.
For many decades, a double lumen endobronchial tube known as the ‘Robert Shaw’ tube has been employed consisting of a thick plastic tube divided into two channels by a septum. One channel opens at the end and the other opens several centimeters proximal to the tip. When the tip is inserted into one bronchus for collapsing the lung, the other bronchus can receive oxygen and gas through the side.
But, the “Robert Shaw” type of tube is difficult to properly position in the bronchus since it has two curves, and must be twisted inside the trachea in order to properly place the tip inside the left bronchus. Also, the device frequently tends to slip out of the left bronchus and enter the right bronchus when the patient is placed from a supine position at commencement of anesthesia to a lateral position for surgery, or the head position is changed.